WSU Does Rare Thing And Beats #23 UCLA In Pullman For The First Time Since 1993

I honestly did not want to go to tonight’s game, I’m not going to lie. This team was poised to get its ass kicked, and I have this thing called school to worry about. Thank you Melinda Lee and Scott Vic for getting me out to Beasley to learn the ropes on the replay board. Because of that, I was sitting right behind the Ernie Kent (tonight’s color commentator) for one of the most epic upsets in program history.

The building was empty and silent to start the game, and I don’t blame them. Initially both teams acted like they didn’t even want to be playing tonight. Washington State quickly changed that as they went on a 7-0 run to bring the crowd slowly to life.

For me the scariest point in the game was when UCLA scored their first bucket, their first two points; I fully expected this team to collapse and UCLA to go on a run to put this sucker out of reach before the half.

Instead the Cougs put together a 10-0 run to put them up 17-2 with 12-minutes left in the game. It was the most intense first half of basketball I have seen this team play in a long, long time. The Cougs lead at the half would have been 12-points if not for a Bruin three-pointer with a little over two seconds on the clock.

That intensity stayed throughout the second half as the Bruins were never, ever able to get a lead. A couple of times they narrowed the Cougs lead down to six, but that was the closest they would get.

One of those times the Bruins got within six, the score was 67-61 and the Cougs desperately needed a stop and a score to stem the baby blue and gold tide. They got it on a steal and deep pace to Will Dilorio who slammed down the two-handed dunk. D.J. Shelton followed that dunk up with his own and this game belonged to the boys in Crimson.

This game was huge for the Cougs, it snapped a nine game skid this season AND a 20 year (19 game) home losing streak to the Bruins. It was the last time I’ll see Brock Motum wearing the Crimson and Grey in person, and it was nice to see it result in a victory. Also, I was two and a half months old the last time the Cougs beat the Bruins in Pullman; the program finally got the dickless bears off of their back.